If You're Thinking of Living In/Jamaica Estates, Queens; An Enclave That Treasures Its Trees

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THE first thing that strikes a visitor to the enclave in eastern Queens that is Jamaica Estates is its hilly streets lined by huge oak, maple, elm and chestnut trees.

The Jamaica Estates Company, which developed the community's 503 acres at the turn of the century, laid out lots to preserve existing trees. Some are now more than 200 years old.

The neighborhood's eclectic housing offers something to suit almost every taste, if the buyer can afford it. Next to a slate-roofed 90-year-old Tudor there may be a modern ranch or split-level built in the 1960's, and clapboard colonials rub shoulders with brick Georgian-style mansions.

Prices average $307,520, according to Comps Inc., a real estate data provider in Bayville, L.I. But fine schools, convenient transportation, reasonable taxes and a strong sense of community cemented by an active homeowners' association, have created a strong demand and a shortage of houses on the market.

''Our homes are beautifully kept, our lawns are manicured and we have lots of flowers,'' said Leslie Weinberg, whose husband, Barry, is chairman of the board of the Jamaica Estates Association, the homeowners' group.

The predominant housing stock is detached one-family dwellings, though some rental and co-op apartment houses can be found along the southern edge of the community on Wexford Terrace and Highland Avenue. A one-bedroom apartment typically rents for $750 a month, and one-bedroom co-ops starting at $21,000 are available.

House prices start at around $275,000 for a three-bedroom colonial or Tudor on a 40- by 100-foot lot, and can exceed $1 million for an unusual property on a large lot.

''Property is very important,'' said Ellen Katz, a broker with ERA United Realty in Bayside. ''The more property, the higher the price.''

One of her listings, a 6-bedroom, 60-year-old brick colonial on a 50- by 218-foot lot, has an asking price of $599,000. But another, a four-bedroom center-hall brick colonial with a very small back yard, is priced at only $399,000. ''The house is worth it, but because of the property people don't want it,'' Ms. Katz said.

One of the neighborhood's oldest and most unusual houses -- built in 1902 and known as Hilltop -- was sold earlier this month for $675,000 through Miriam Sand, an associate broker with First Choice Real Estate in Fresh Meadows. The eight-bedroom residence in many ways exemplifies the quirky nature of the community's homes.

The property, which borders the Grand Central Parkway service road, is a full acre. The house can be entered on Aberdeen Road, but a second entrance on the service road requires a 40-step climb up a stone staircase.

The original owners were French and English, so the front part of the house was built in a Tudor style, and the rear is French Provincial, said Gerald A. Heard, the recent seller, who with his wife, Simone, had lived in the house for 30 years.

SOME of the finest examples of larger houses can be found along Midland Parkway, where Donald J. Trump and his four siblings were raised. Mr. Trump's father, Fred, a developer whose activities in Queens included several apartment houses in Jamaica Estates, and his wife, Mary, still live in the large colonial that has been the family home for over 50 years.

The Jamaica Estates Association keeps a vigilant eye on maintaining the neighborhood ambiance.

It is, for example, constantly on the lookout for attempts by some homeowners to create illegal apartments in their single- family houses or to otherwise violate building and zoning codes.

''We have a very active zoning committee that watches out for this,'' said Mark J. Lefkof, area chairman for Community Board 8, and the immediate past president of the Jamaica Estates Association, which was established in 1929. ''We are very, very adamant that the building codes here be maintained in order to preserve the unique characteristics of this community.''

The association subscribes to an armed security service, which answers emergency calls from those members who pay dues to support it. Subscribing to the patrol is voluntary, but about half the association's 1,800 members pay the $175 a year fee in addition to the $25 annual dues. Mr. Lefkof said the patrol had been started a decade ago in response to a rash of burglaries. Now, he added, there is ''less crime in Jamaica Estates than many other neighborhoods of the city.''

In a 1910 brochure, now at the Queens Historical Society in Flushing, the original developer, the Jamaica Estates Company of Manhattan, noted that ''Jamaica Estates is the same distance from Herald Square that Columbia University is from City Hall'' and that it could be reached in ''an average of 30 minutes.'' Lot prices started at $2,050 with a liberal discount for cash.

A gatehouse built by the developers on Midland Parkway at Hillside Avenue still exists. Inside it is a World War II memorial to local servicemen.

Several of the development company's officers built their own houses in the new community. They included Michael J. Degnon, an engineer who helped design the first New York City subway system, which began operations in 1904.

His 12-acre property, which covered a full block between Edgerton Boulevard and Midland Parkway, was purchased in 1925 by the Roman Catholic Passionist monks and became the site of the Passionist Monastery, the Bishop Molloy Retreat House and the Immaculate Conception Church and School. The monastery was completed in 1927 and the church in 1962.

Prominent among the community's other houses of worship is the Hillcrest Jewish Center on Union Turnpike between Kent Street and Chevy Chase. Its Conservative temple has a 500-seat sanctuary. The center, which has a pool and a gym, offers programs for the young and old, and runs a children's day care center, a Hebrew school and a summer camp.

One of the two public elementary schools serving the neighborhood, the 440-pupil P.S. 178 on Radnor Road in Hollis, has consistently ranked among the top 10 of the city's elementary schools, with over 95 percent of children scoring at or above grade level in math and reading. ''Our children spend most of their time on very challenging academic material,'' said Joan Weingarten, the principal. A program for learning-disabled children has also just opened.

The other elementary school is P.S. 131 on 172d Street at 84th Avenue in Jamaica Hills, where 64.7 percent of children read at or above grade level, and 80 percent were at or above grade level in math scores.

Children attend seventh through ninth grades at Junior High School 216 in Flushing, which has been designated a magnet school for environmental sciences.

MANY of its graduates go to the city's elite high schools, said the principal, Frank Schimmel. Others attend Jamaica High School, where special programs include courses in law and finance. In June 1996, 81 percent of Jamaica High's graduates went on to higher education. The community's private schools include the suburban campus of the United Nations International School in Manhattan. Situated since 1982 at 173-53 Croydon Road, the school has 230 pupils in kindergarten through grade 8. Tuition ranges from $10,500 to $11,000 a year.

The Immaculate Conception School at 179-14 Dalny Road -- a Roman Catholic school but open to all -- has 420 pupils in grades pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

The Mary Louis Academy at 176-21 Wexford Terrace, a college preparatory school for girls that is owned and run by the Roman Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph in Brentwood, has 950 students in grades 9 through 12.

St. John's University, which borders Jamaica Estates to the west, offers a large variety of adult education courses, including college credit courses. People 62 years of age and older can also audit regular daytime college courses for $25 per course. Sporting and cultural events held at the 105-acre campus are also open to the public.

Stores and restaurants along Union Turnpike, the neighborhood shopping avenue, include Vogue & Vintage at Grandma's Attic, which sells antique and contemporary jewelry as well as gifts; shoe stores, boutiques, a baby shop, and various service establishments. A Rite Aid pharmacy recently replaced the Utopia movie theater.

For snacks or complete meals there is the Surrey Kosher Delicatessen & Restaurant which first opened in 1948, and Rogers Luncheonette, which specializes in salt-free and health-food dishes.

Six blocks east of the neighborhood is the 325-acre Cunningham Park. Along with many nature trails it has 20 tennis courts, 2 soccer fields, 27 ballfields and 2 boccie courts. Free summer concerts by the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera are held on the main lawn bordering 193d Street and Union Turnpike.

''Jamaica Estates was a terrific place to grow up in,'' said Donald Trump, reminiscing about his old neighborhood.

''It was very serene and very beautiful and it had a great feeling of safety and security. And yet it was close to the hub giving me a good perspective of New York and what New York is all about.''

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